The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Iliana stretched deeply, grateful to be released from the rather cramped interior of the Plymouth’s trunk. Alone, it would have been spacious enough, but sharing the space with Lauren, it had been nearly as cramped as the coffin she kept back in her Master’s home up in Canada. Glancing about, wary of watchful eyes, she made her way carefully to the front door.

“Lauren, hurry up!” she hissed, watching the camera up above her head finish its half rotation to the left and begin its return. “You better cross before the camera swings back into position or we’re finished before we’ve even begun!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” the blonde-haired girl muttered, slipping up underneath the camera, out of its view, just as it passed her positon. “Piece of cake. I had a whole second to spare.”

Ana merely rolled her eyes. “Now, we just have to wait for Andrea to cut the power so we can sweep in and free Garret. Do you know which way to go?”

“Of course. I saw it in her mind the same as you. Quit worrying, Iliana. Everythin will work out just fine. I’m sure of it.”

Famous last words, Ana thought to herself.

Closing her eyes, she sent her thoughts back towards her familiar, to the mind of Detective Andrea Bradley, deep within the confines of the research facility. She could feel the human girl’s nervousness, her fear of discovery, as surely as her own. Silently, she willed the girl to relax, to calm herself and stick with the plan. All she needed was to find the main power junction and disable it temporarily. Then, Lauren and Iliana could take it from there.

Dr. Simon watched intently as the soldiers loaded the last of his files into the steel lock box, making sure everything was treated with the utmost care. A slight frown creased his features, a sure sign to those that knew him that he was greatly disturbed. The usually placid-faced doctor rapped his fingers lightly on the edge of his desk, while deep thoughts churned inside his head.

The policewoman disturbed him. Her badge had been real; he remembered her vaugely from the Branford Police Station where they had taken custody of the Roberts subject. He had no doubt that her story would check out if he bothered to call her superiors at the station. Still... the timing of her visit was nearly catastrophic. Was it coincidence that she would arrive here, now, asking about Roberts just when he was preparing to move the project out of the facility? He had no reason to suspect her, and yet...

Coincidence is only a conspiracy that hasn’t been proven, he thought grimly. She has to be involved with them if she’s not one herself. Well, they aren’t stopping me from going public with my findings this time.

Dr. Simon closed his eyes, remembering all too well his own run-in with the vampire species thirty years earlier. He’d been vacationing in Switzerland with his fiance at the time, doing a little night skiiing, dangerous, but exciting. His girl and he had taken a tumble, landing in the soft powder in the dark forboding woods. They’d laughed at the time, fearing nothing worse than a stern reprisal if they were caught. And then... he’d descended down from out of nowhere, a shadow moving through the shadows. Barbara had been taken completely unaware, too stunned to even put up a fight. The creature had fed on her, draining her life’s blood before his very eyes. He’d shouted her name and moved to attack the thing, drive it off somehow, but one look into the creature’s deep red eyes had frozen him in his tracks.

Frozen, he was forced to watch the vampire drain the love of his life to the very dregs, tossing her aside afterwards like a piece of garbage. Licking his lips, the vampire then turned to him, fangs bared, preparing to finish his meal with him as the dessert, when a shout sounded from nearby. Hissing in anger, the vampire fled, slipping back into the shadows again, disappearing just as the lights of the ski patrol fell on their location. The creature, still in his mind, had laughed then, as it whispered a last parting taunt.

You will be unable to tell anyone about what happened here, fool, the creature’s voice echoed in his mind. No one would believe you, anyway. Still, it will be amusing to know that you alone know the truth of this, wracked with guilt and pain, but forever unable to speak of this. Hahahahahaha!

He’d changed after that night. Gone forever was the cheerful, happy-go-lucky physican he’d been before the trip. Now, Dr. Simon’s world revolved around only one thing: the endless pursuit of knowledge and power, with which he was determined to destroy the vampire menace lurking within the shadows of the unknowing humanity.

“That’s the last file, Doctor,” the sentry captain said, gesturing to the heavy crate being lifted. “All your data has been loaded and secured. We’re ready to move the subject now.”

“Yes, yes, very good,” Dr. Simon said, turning towards the window. “Just remember to follow my procedures to the letter. He may look weak and helpless, a man barely alive, clinging by a thread, but remember what he truly is.” He opened the cabinet and removed a chrome plated Desert Eagle, slid in a magazine of ammo, and tucked it inside his belt. “Now then, let’s begin.”

Garret barely moved his badly scarred face when the door opened, but his eyes tracked his keeper’s movements nonetheless. There were six men in total, two white coated researchers, three green-suited soldiers, and Dr. Simon himself. One of the sentries held an automatic rifle in his hands, not trained on him, yet, but easily maneuvered to cut him down should he make the slightest move to escape. In a raspy, scratchy voice he asked, “So, doctor, taking me on a little field trip, are you?”

“As a matter of fact, yes,” Dr. Simon replied, speaking directly to him for once. “Simmons, you and Cortez administer the sedative.” A slight upturn of the lips passing for a smile marked the doctor’s amusement. “For being such a good sport about the testing, I’ve decided to let you rest for a while. By the time you wake up, you’ll be safe and secure in your new home.”

Garret tensed, struggling uselessly with his bonds as the two technicians slid their hypodermic needles into his flesh. “Dammit,” he growled, panting deeply with the effort of resisting, “I just... I just had a nap... few minues... ago...” His head lolled slightly to the side, and his eyes fluttered closed.

“Excellent,” Dr. Simon nodded approvingly. “That doseage would keep a whole herd of elephants out for twenty-four hours. He won’t be giving us any more trouble tonight.” Turning to the soldiers, he yelled. “You two, prepare the stretcher. Cortez, unlock his manacles, and slip on the special chains. And you, with the gun, keep a close watch on him. If the subject so much as twitches, cut him to pieces.”

Dr. Cortez leaned down over the body, unlocking the thick titanium-steel manacles holding him in place. “But, Doctor,” he said, as he slid the slack, unmoving arms into the chains, “you just said we gave him enough drugs to knock out a herd of elephants. He’s out cold.”

“Better to be safe than sorry,” Simon replied. “Now, move it. I want us ready to leave in five minutes. Something tells me our time is running out.”

Dammit, time is running out, Andrea thought to herself, as she stood, half-listening to the sentry’s idle chatter, as he led her back towards the main entrance. Her eyes searched every hallway, every door, looking frantically for a power conduit, a fuse box, or anything. Passing by the sentry’s station in front of the entrance, she finally spied a gray metal box along the wall across from the monitoring station. A second sentry sat, eyes glued to the myriad screens, watching all activities of the faciity, inside and out.

“Well, Detective,” her escourt said, gesturing to the door, “I hope this has been educational for you, at least. I’m sorry we couldn’t have been more helpful to you, though.”

“Yes, well, that’s okay,” she said quickly, clenching her legs, dancing lightly in place. “The case is closed now, that’s all that counts. Say, uhm, Richard, was it? I hate to trouble you, but I’ve really gotta go. Badly. Is there a ladie’s room around here nearby?”

Richard frowned. “Uhm, well, no, not really. This base is pretty much male-oriented, so we don’t have a bathroom specifically set aside for women. We don’t usually get a lot of visitors out here, either, you know...”

“Well, how about in there?” she said, pointing to the small lavatory inside the sentry’s survalience post. “That looks small enough to be private. Please? I really really have to go! I don’t want to make a mess all over your nice clean floors, but I’m about ten seconds from bursting here!”

Blushing deeply, the guard nodded. “Yeah, alright, fine. Hey, Ben, we have an emergency here. Unlock the bathroom will ya? She’s gotta go!”

The door opened, and the second sentry let them inside. “Go ahead, Miss, it’s all yours,” he said, unlocking the door. “Sorry, it’s a little... uhm... well... ahem... well, there’s a can of Lysol on the floor beside the stall, if you need it.”

Pinching her nose closed, Andrea nodded. “Thanks, I think maybe I will.”

Letting the door slip closed behind her, Andrea sighed, then grimaced as she inhaled the pungent air. “Iliana, you really owe me one for this,” she whispered softly. Moving to the sink, she turned on the water, as well as the hand dryer, letting the noise serve as an extra distraction. Peeking through a crack in the door, she saw that the room was once again empty save for Ben, the sentry monitoring the cameras. Slipping silently out of the bathroom, she slid a hand over to the fuse box, only inches from the door. Her hand moved along until it found the master switch, and closing her eyes, counting to three, she pulled the main breaker.

The room went instantly black.

“Yo! What the hell?”

Moving quickly, Andrea charged the confused sentry, tackling him in the pitch black darkness and slamming his unconscious body to the floor. Reflexively, she pulled her gun, glancing around as she made her way to the door, listening intently for sounds of men moving through the hallways. Nothing. Again, counting to three, she opened the door and ran through the hallway, sprinting for the main entrance. The dim light shining through the open doorway let her see enough to know that Lauren and Iliana had already entered the compound; the steel framed glass door lay in a thousand pieces along the floor, giving Andrea a clear route outside.

She slipped into her car, and slid down in the seats, sighing deeply. Her part in this plan was over for now. She only hoped her Mistress and Lauren would fare as well.

The instant the lights went out, Iliana charged. Hitting the door hard and fast, she shattered the glass into fragments, moving heedless down the hallways. Her vampiric eyes pierced the thick black darkness, giving her a clear view of her route. She and Lauren passed through several confused soldiers, feeling around blindly, trying to find their bearings.

“Ahh! What the fuck was that?” one soldier asked, feeling them brush by his positon.

“Shit! What happened to the damn lights?” another asked, groping along the walls.

“Fuck, man, must be intruders!” Fumbling along his belt, the third soldier found his flashligh, and clicked it on. The other two soldiers did the same sweeping the area with the bright narrow beam.

By that time, Lauren and Iliana had already swept by, out of sight. Other soldiers, however, were following suit, forcing the two girls to pause, and slip inside the canteen only ten feet from their destination. Grinding her teeth in frustration, Iliana waited anxiously for the sentries to pass by.

“This is taking too long,” Lauren whispered harshly. “We need to keep moving. They’ll soon figure out the problem and have the lights back on, and then we’re trapped.”

As if her words had been a summon, the lights suddenly flickered back to life. Cursing, the two women slid down behind the door, out of sight, as a sentry passed by. When he continued on without entering the room, they breathed a sigh of relief.

“Now what do we do?” Lauren asked.

Iliana’s expression grew hard. “We break my Master out of this place, that’s what. We continue on as before. We’re only ten feet from the room; we’re almost there. I say we just keep going, and handle whatever we run into along the way.” She opened the door, glanced down the empty hall, and crept out. Sighing, shaking her head, Lauren followed.

The main control center of the lab was completely deserted. Iliana stared in shock and dismay at the discarded boxes and crates, the ample trash lying around. It looked as if someone had quickly departed only moments ago, leaving behind the cluttered mess in their wake. Peering through the window on the far side of the room, Iliana gasped. In the middle of the room stood a metal examination table, empty now, but covered in what appeared to be human blood. Heavy metallic manacles and chains lay across the slab, obviously used to restrain whomeer had occupied the bed previously. Ana’s heart nearly crumbled to dust at the sight. Her Master, her poor Master, must have suffered horribly at the hands of whomever was responsible.

“He’s gone,” she whispered numbly, turning away. Lauren raced to the window, peering down. “I don’t know how this could be? Before... always before... we could feel one another’s pain, sense each other’s life force ebbing. If he died, I thought I would know, I would sense it somehow... but he’s... he’s...”

“Ana,” Lauren barked. “Someone’s still down there! Looks like two soldiers, and they’re carrying heavy metal boxes! Come on! Maybe one of them will know where they’ve taken him!”

Iliana followed Lauren to the stairs leading down into the holding cell, despairing, still fearing the worse, but daring to hope. The two soldiers glanced up as they entered, their arms full with the heavy crates they carried. They looked at the girls, then at each other, then at the girls once more.

““Oh, shit!” the one on the left yelled, dropping his crate, reaching for the rifle strapped to his back. Iliana was on him instantly, staring deep into his eyes. She smiled, seeing the effect she had on the soldier, and lifting his chin slightly, gave him the Blood Kiss. A soft passionate sigh left the man’s lips, and the gun fell from his slack fingers, as he wrapped his arms around the vampire temptress, needing her, loving her, to death. A moment later he slumped to the floor, his face pale white and bloodless, his face frozen in eternal bliss.

The second soldier sighed as well, his mind an open book to Lauren’s meager talents. He stared lovingly at her glowing red lips, soft and kissable, as he told the girl everything he knew about the project.

“They’re moving him out now,” he purred, eyes half-lidded with need. “Two heavily armored transport vehicles, Dr. Simon and his files in one, the subject locked and chained in the other... mmmmmmm.... oooohhhh baby... They are outside the gate right now... uuhhhhh... me and Ralph, we were to bring out the last of the crates... just before... before... oh, baby, please, please, just one little kiss, please... oh, I need it so bad...”

Lauren glanced at Iliana, who nodded. Smiling, she leaned forward. “Very well, then. You’ve been such a good boy, so very helpful, that I guess you deserve a reward.” Leaning forward, she kissed him deeply, letting her blood soaked lips press firmly against his eager human ones. She held him tightly as he shook, his body pulsing with orgasmic delight as she drained his body dry. Drained at last, she deposited the lifeless husk on the floor beside his partner.

“Not bad,” Ana mused. “Now, let’s go! We have no time to lose!”

“Dammit! What’s taking those two so long? They should have been out of there by now?”

Dr. Simon tapped lightly on the reinforced steel frame of the vehicle, gazing out at the exterior of the base. Everything was loaded and secure, save for the backup files of his research. The choice to take them as well was a last minute decision; if, God forbid. anything should happen to them, or that his research data be destroyed, he felt secure knowing that he still had a backup of his computer files.

“Sir,” the Captain spoke from up front in the driver’s seat, “looks like trouble. The lights in the main complex are out. Can’t be a power failure, ‘cause the lights in your lab and the adjoining cell are still on.”

Simon scowled, glancing back at the complex. “Damn. I was right. This was no coincidence.” Turning back to the Captain, he banged twice on the metal plate seperating them. “Take off, Captain. We’re getting out of here now.”

“But sir, what about my men, and the backup files—”

“Fuck the men and the damn files! Get us out of here now, damnmit! Go! GO!!”

The lights flickered back on again seconds later. Starting the engine, the Captain hesitated just a moment. “What are you waiting for, Captain?” Simon’s voice bellowed up from behind. “I said, move out! Whoever is inside the complex right now has been compromised. You know what we’re carrying. You know the research I’ve been conducting. More of them, like the man in the other transport, have infiltrated the base somehow. If you’re thinking of waiting for those last two men to come out, you can forget it. They’ll look like your men, perhaps, but trust me, they won’t be your soldiers anymore. They’ll be something else, much worse!”

Biting his lip, the Captain blew his horn twice and moved the transport forward, heading to the main gate. The second transport moved as well, slipping in ahead of them, out through the open gate, and turned towards the interstate. Glancing back, he was surprised to see two civilians exit the compound. Two women, a blonde and a redhead, both beautiful, both very much out of place. An icy trickle ran down his back as he considered the possibility that Dr. Simon, for all his paranoid ravings, might have been right.

Iliana barely managed to repress a scream as she watched the two army transports leave through the main gate. They’d missed them by mere seconds! Standing there in the middle of the deserted parking lot, she felt completely at a loss.

“Come on, we gotta get out of here!” Lauren urged. “Those soldiers will be coming along right behind us!”

“HOW?” Iliana shot back. “How do we catch up with them now? How do we stop them? We could glide after them, flying on air currents, but even a vampire’s strength and speed is no match for a platoon of heavily armed soldiers! How the fuck do we even get them to stop?”

“Hey! You there! Freeze! Don’t move!”

Cursing, Iliana and Lauren ran, dodging a hail of automatic gunfire as the remaining men filed out of the base after them. Suddenly, a pair of headlights clicked on, nearly blinding them. A door opened, and Andrea Bradley slid an arm out, waving frantically at them.

“HEY! GET IN QUICK!” the detective yelled, revving her engine. “We can still catch them if you hurry!”

In a blink, the two vampires were inside, and the car took off for the front gate. A few stray bullets pierced the exterior of the car, but Andrea drove on, heedless, zooming into and through the wooden arm blocking the still open gate. She had the satisfaction of seeing the look of complete surprise on the gate guard’s face as they streamed by. With a squeal of rubber to asphalt, the Plymouth turned left and followed after the transports.

Inside the lead transport, the two soldiers chatted, holding their guns limply to the side, eyeing the motionless figure of Garret Roberts with little interest. In the front, the driver and his passenger listened to the radio, focusing on their route, oblivious to anything else.

The soldier paused, glancing down at Garret’s body, frowning. “Hey, Charlie, did you see it move just now?” he asked, staring at the battered and bruised lump. “I don’t know for sure, but I think it moved.”

Charlie, peering down at the unmoving mass, grunted. “You’re paranoid, Eddy,” he said. “You heard the doc back there? They filled the guy with enough drugs to knock out a herd of elephants. He didn’t move.”

“I dunno, Charlie,” Eddy said, staring down at Garret. “The doc also said the guy was a vampire. You know, one of those evil, blood-sucking fiends, like in those Anne Rice books.”

Charlie frowned. “Since when the fuck do you read Anne Rice? Hell, when the fuck do you read anything besides Garfield comics?”

Eddie bristled slightly. “Hey, I read, Charlie. I’m no dummy. You think I plan on being in the military for the rest of my life? Uh uh. I’m just doing my four year stretch, then I’m off to college.”

Charlie huffed. “Geez! Listen to you, Mr. High-and-Mighty! Wanna be a college man, do ya? This world’s already full of eggheads. What we need are a few less poindexters and a few more real men. Me, I’m plannin’ to be a careeer soldier. What’s civilian life got to offer me? Here, I get a gun. I get to go out and shoot the enemy, I get free room and board, I get to travel to exotic locations... and I get paid for it! I’m telling ya, Eddie, you don’t know what you’ll be—”

“Hey Charlie,” Eddie cut in, gripping his rifle. “He moved. This time, I’m sure of it! That guy’s moving.”

Growling, Charlie gripped the butt of his rifle. “Dammit, Ed, I’m telling you the guy’s out cold!” He rammed the muzzle of his gun hard into Garret’s side, again and again. “See? He’s not moving! You think he could be awake and not cry out from all this? The guy is out, you get it?”

“Got it,” Garret replied, eyes open, gripping the muzzle of the rifle tightly in his hand. He jerked it from Charlie’s stunned grasp, and swung, cracking the soldier across the brow. Reversing the weapon, he trained his gun on the second soldier, smiling. “Now, now, son,” he said softly, “don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you. Just lower your weapon, nice and easy, and no one will get hurt.”

“Jes... Jeee... Jeez...” Eddie stuttered softly, trying to pray as he lowered his rifle to the floor. He wasn’t sure which frightened him more, the fact that he was staring down the barrel of a fully loaded AK, or that the gun itself was being held by a vampire! The man looked half-dead; his naked flesh was badly cut and bruised all over, swollen and abraided in places, the pale white of the skin mottled all over with black and purple bruises. Any normal human in such a condition would likely be lying on a coroner’s table, yet this man was alive and well... or at least fully aware. As incredible as it seemed, he had to be a real, honest-to-goodness vampire!

Garret smiled again, lowering his own weapon. “Good. I think we understand each other now. You sit there and behave and we’ll both get along fine. Oh, and don’t even think about crying out for help from your friends up front. Even in these chains I can snap your neck before they can turn around to ask ‘What?’” Eddie’s mouth closed then, as he’d just been considering just that.

“H... ho... how are you.. I mean... they injected you with sedatives,” Eddie asked, glancing back over his shoulder at the front, hoping someone would look back at him. “I saw then do it! How can you be awake?”

Garret closed his eyes and sighed softly, then flexed. With a shearing of metal, the thick chains encircling his body snapped, leaving angry red lines across his already abused skin. Wincing slightly, rubbing his wrists, he moved over to the unconscious Charlie. “Yes, well, that is just what I wanted everyone to see. Dr. Simon is a very meticulous, very careful man. Knowing of a vampire’s mind talents, he kept me seperated from everyone else. During my three weeks of hell, he made sure I received no infusions of blood, and very limited contact with the researchers in charge of me. Still, I managed to exert my will over my handlers in limited but very subtle ways.”

Glancing at Eddie, he frowned. “You’ll probably want to turn your head for this, son.”

“Wha... NO! You can’t!” he said, horrified, backing up against the metal divider. “I can’t just sit there and let you—”

“Feed on your friend?” Garret finished, his grin widening. “Oh, but you can, and you will, I’m afraid. You’re going to sit here silently until I allow you to talk again... but for your own sakes, I again suggest that you turn away. I’d hate to make you lose your lunch watching me have mine.”

Eddie cried out, screaming, yelling, trying to get the attention of his fellow soldiers up front. His mouth worked furiously... but as Garret had said, nothing issued forth. He had been struck mute somehow, by some strange trick or power the vampire possessed. Numb with terror, he watched helplessly as Garret tilted Charlie’s neck to the side, bit down deep, and drank from the sweet gushing fountain that issued forth.

Eddie did lose his lunch before Garret finished his own.

Sighing in disgust, Garret turned away from the steaming puddle of puke. “Well, I did warn you,” he said simply. “Now then, you asked about the drugs. I had enough time with my handlers to implant one simple message inside their minds, a command... or actually an image. I knew that Dr. Simon planned to move me upstate today, and that to do so he would have me sedated. I merely had the two researchers prepare their hypos ahead of time... filled not with some sedative, but instead with clear, thick, human blood plasma. Without the red cells and the platlets, blood plasma is a thick syrupy looking liquid, easily mistaken for the drugs they’d been pumping me full of all along.”

When Eddie didn’t respond, Garret nodded. “Okay, you can speak now, but nothing more than a whisper.”

“Helphelphelpsomebodyhelpmehelpmehelpme,” issued forth in a steady stream from his lips before Eddie got control of himself again. Sighing, he lowered his head. “Okay. Fine. You’ve got me. You’re in command of the situation now. So... what are you waiting for? Go ahead and kill me, rip out my throat like you did Charlie. Drain me dry.”

Garret chuckled, somewhat amused. “You seem like a good kid to me, Edward. I have no intention of killing you... if you give me no cause to,” he added, glaring. “As I tried repeatedly to explain to your Dr. Simon, vampires are not the monsters the movies make us out to be. We’re not all heartless devils out to kill and feast on humanity. Sure, there are a few assholes, just like in every society, but those few rotten apples don’t mean the whole bunch is bad.”

“But... but... Charlie,” Eddie asked, pointing to his lifeless friend.

“Oh. Him. Yes, well, I do need to feed, you know. Vampires do need human blood to survive, but most of us have learned to feed without killing, without draining a person to death. All things in moderation, so to speak. Personally, I take my blood prepackaged, from a local blood bank where I live. I don’t kill if I’m not provoked.” Glancing at the dead soldier, he shrugged. “Charlie was an asshole. He provoked me.”

A flash of headlights from behind caught his attention, and glancing back, he saw a dark blue Plymouth weave its way in front of the second transport vehicle, ramming it repeatedly, knocking it off the road. “Damn,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Ilana. It has to be.”

The incident with the second transport had been noticed by the driver as well. Peering back, he cried out in alarm, seeing the prisoner standing up, very much alive, and Charlie lying on the floor, dead. “Holy SHIT!” he yelled, pulling off the road. “He’s awake. Jim, get your gun! Shoot it! SHOOT IT!”

Faster than Eddie’s eyes could follow, the vampire moved to the metal divider, grabbing Jim’s outstretched arm tightly, squeezing it until his gun clattered to the ground. He then sank his teeth into the screaming man’s wrist, feeding on him as voraciously as he had fed on Charlie. Eddie turned away, feeling nauseous again.

“SONOFABITCH!” the driver yelled, turning around, pointing his muzzle of his rifle through the small hole inside the metal divider. He fired point blank range, drilling Garret with a steady hail of lead, driving him back hard into the rear doors. The driver, laughing madly, continued to fire, until he’d emptied the entire magazine. “I got you, mother fucker! I got you!” he yelled, slipping out of his seat, moving around to the back of the parked vehicle. He ripped open the door, still yelling. “I got you! I got you! I got yyy—uuuurrrpp!!”

His cheering died in his throat as Garret, bloody, wracked with pain, but still standing, shoved a hand straight up into the soldier’s gullet, through his intestines, past his stomach, up inside his ribcage, to his still beating heart. Smiling evilly, he squeezed, feeling the organ turn to pulp in his bare hands. The soldier shuddered violently for a moment then went still.

“FUCKING SONOFABITCH!” Eddie screamed, grabbing up his own rifle. Garret frowned, tilting his head to the side, quizzicly. The young solder was so scared Garret’s enhansed senses could detect the smell of urine. Eddie had peed his pants in fear. Sighing, shaking his head, he dropped the lifeless driver next to Charlie, reached over and took Eddie’s gun away, bent the muzzle smartly, handed it back to him, and climbed up into the driver’s seat.

“Now then,” he said calmly, shifting gears, “if they’re no further objections, I’m turning us around. I want to see what’s happenedin back with the other transport.” He pushed the dead body of Jim out of the passenger seat, down to the floor. Eddie mewled wordlessly, praying silently over and over in his head.

Peering through the windshield of their sixteen-wheeler, the two vampires stare, frowning, as the lead transport vehicle pauses on the side of the road for a moment, then slowly turns around, heading back down the way it came. Staring at one another for a long moment, they start the ignition of their own vehicle, and head back onto the road, in pursuit.

A bullet whizzed by, barely missing Iliana’s temple, and she grimaced, hiding down behind the ineffectual shield of Andrea’s bullet-ridden car. Across from them, five soldier, armed with automatic rifles, continued to advance, firing sporadically as they advanced. Andrea, kneeling down with her and Lauren, returned fire with his own semi-automatic handgun, trying to frighten the men back without actually hitting anyone.

“Let me try,” Lauren demanded, reaching yet again for the policewoman’s firearm. “They’re close enough that even I could score a hit now!”

“Dammit, I just can’t shoot this guys!” Andrea growled in frustration. “They’re only doing their jobs, like I do. They’re not my enemy. I can’t just shoot them down in cold blood.”

“Well, you’d better damn well try,” Iliana hissed, ducking as a bullet passed over her head. “Otherwise we’ll be the ones shot down in cold blood! As far as they’re concerned, we’re all evil vampire monsters. They’re not going to let us surrender, no fucking way. If you want to live, you’d better start hitting the mark!”

Sighing, gritting her teeth, Andrea took aim. Suddenly the bright headlights of the second vehicle illuminated the scene. The soldiers, surprised, turned, staring as the transport pulled up and parked across from them. The door opened, and...

In a blinding flash of speed and power, Garret attacked, sweeping three of the soldiers before they realized what was happening. The other two turned and fired, cutting down their own men in the process, still unable to lock on on the fast moving intruder. Taking advantage of the distraction, Iliana and Lauren attacked, leaping out from their hiding spot, each bringing down a soldier. Iliana got to her feet, staring in rapt amazement and horror at the sight of her Master, his body rended, battered, bruised, horribly disfigured, yet standing tall and confident, over the unconscious bodies of the men he had taken down. Panting, weary from the exertion, he bent nearly double, almost falling to his knees.

“MASTER!” Iliana cried rushing to him. She was at his side in an instant, helping to support him, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Oh, Master, my Master, you’re alive. You’re alive!”

Garret chuckled softly, then groaned as her soft gentle hands touched a particularly sensitive spot. “Yes, yes, I’m alive. Not well, but alive.” He sighed softly. “I see you haven’t quite learned to follow instructions yet.”

Taken aback slightly, Iliana blinked. “But... but Master,” she protested. “I came here to help you, to rescue you.”

Not that I needed it, he thought sardonically. I had already made my escape when you barged in and got yourself into trouble. Seeing the look of sadnes and hurt on her face, however, he held his tongue.

“Yes, well, thank you, Ana,” he said softly, hugging her close. “I know this whole thing must have been hard for you.”

“Well, all’s well that end’s well,” Andrea said, stepping forward. “Mr. Roberts, I’m sorry about all of this. I think it was wrong of my superiors to turn you over that that madman Dr. Simon like that... but at least you’re safe now.”

A shot rang out, and Andrea gasped aloud. She glanced down at the newly made hole in her chest, and slipped to her knees, in shock.

“Andrea!” Lauren cried, running to her side, only to be stopped by a second shot fired right in front of her.

“That’s quite enough,” Dr. Simon said calmly, holding the Desert Eagle stiffly out in front of him. “The first one was a warning shot. The next one goes through your heart.”

Eyes narrowed, Garret glared at the man that had so recently tortured him to within an inch of his life. He considered his options carefully. The girl, Andrea, needed help quickly, but even with his speed, he’d never be able to reach Simon and disable him before he fired off another shot.

“Reduced to firing on helpless girls, now, Doctor?” Garret spat back, instead. “Couldn’t handle a man like myself, even chained up, half-starved, battered, and beaten, so you decided to take pot shots at the women.”

Simon’s lip quivered. “Rest assured, Mr. Roberts,” he said evenly, brining the barrel to bear on him, “there’s plenty of ammunition for you all, and I have a bullet in here with your name on it.”

“I don’t think so,” Garret said, slowly stepping in front of Ana and the other women. “I don’t think you have what it takes to kill me not that I’m unchained and free. You’re the kind of man that likes an opponent that can’t fight back. I think you’ll find me not to your liking... doctor.”

“This from a monster, disguised as a human, feeding on the blood of innocents.”

Garret laughed. “Innocents? And what would you know of innocents, Dr. Simon? You, who take living people down into your cold sterile lab and slowly rip them to pieces, all in the name of science. And no, I don’t mean just me. I heard from some of the soldiers that I am not the first subject you’ve worked with down in that complex of yours! Who was the last subject before me, doctor? Wasn’t she a sixteen year old girl?”

“SHUT UP!” Dr. Simon growled, cocking the gun. “You know NOTHING! You are just a beast, an animal, just like all the rest of them! That girl... that girl was... she was tainted! The contamination was inside her. I knew it. I SAW it! What I did to her was an act of mercy! If she were alive now she would thank me for giving her release before the infection had completely taken her!”

“Or maybe,” Garret said, sliding slowly forward, glancing with peripheral vision at the girl, gently helping the bleeding Andrea over to the car, “maybe she would curse you to your face, and tell you that you are a crazy, sadistic, evil, son of a bitch.”

Dr. Simon’s expression froze, turning placid, colder than an Anarctic winter. “Fuck you,” he said, squeezing the trigger.

Garret moved, his eyes trained on the mad doctor’s finger, moving the instant he saw the muscles tense. The bullet grazed the side of his shoulder, cutting a grove in the swollen, overly-abused mass of flesh of his body. The next shot went high, straight up, as Garret, having crossed the distance, held tightly to the doctor’s wrist, holding it stiffly above his head. With delightly glee, he twisted, snapping the bones of his wrist, making Dr. Simon cry out in pain as the gun tumbled to the ground below.

“Now then, doctor,” Garret said idly, looking deep into the doctor’s pain-ridden eyes, “I believe its my turn.” Like an eagle’s talon, Garret swept up Simon’s mind, squeezing it with the power of his will. He shuffled through his thoughts, glancing idly at the man’s life as he ran a sharp nailed finger along the man’s throat, preparing to pierce the main artery, when he came across the memory. Shocked, stunned, he released the doctor, who gasped, clenching his broken wrist gently, backing away.

“Ah,” Garret said after a moment. “I see. I think I understand you now, doctor. I don’t condone what you’ve done by any means... but I understand why.” He turned and walked away, towards the others crouched down at the Plymouth.

“Understand?” Dr. Simon spat bitterly, reaching for the discarded gun. He fired rapidly, then screamed in frustration, tossinf the empty weapon aside. “You UNDERSTAND? You monster! You can never understand! No one understands!” Sighing, he slipped to the ground. “I have to destroy you... destroy you all,” he said softly, as if to himself. “I can’t let monsters like you roam around free. I have to destroy you... and make the world safe again.”

“We’re not all monsters,” Garret replied, still facing the car. “As I told one of your men just moments ago, being a vampire doesn’t automatically mean you are evil. It’s the person inside that decides to be evil or not. I’m sorry about your loss, about your fiance,” he said gently, “but that has nothing to do with me or mine.” He continued on to the car.

“For what it’s worth,” he called back, pausing at the door, “the one that killed her, a vampire named Vysagio, died about twelve years ago. He picked on one human too many, and this one responded with a shotgun. He was a real asshole; I never liked him.”

Dr. Simon sat there, motionless. Vysagio. The name of the one who had haunted his nightmares for thirty years, dead. Gone. Taken out by a human with a shotgun. The news wasn’t enough to pierce the deep darkness that had settled over his heart for thirty years, but it helped. Somewhat.

“How is she?” Garret asked, glancing down at the still prone body of the policewomen. Lauren glanced at Iliana, who turned away. Lauren turned back to Garret, then looked away again, avoiding his eyes. Frowning, he glanced at Iliana. “What is it you’re not telling me?

“Uhm...” she began looking to Lauren for help. “Well, Andrea, the woman, she’s a policeman by the way, she was hurt. Badly hurt. She was bleeding badly, like a seive, I think maybe the bullet nicked a major artery or something, and time was running our, she was dying in our arms, Master, DYING!” The words came out in a rush, with a soft urgent plea in them. Garret sighed, shaking his weary head. He slid a hand down to Andrea’s slack lips and pulled gently, his fingers brushing against the still-developing fangs coming in.

“You made her a vampire?” he said incredulously.

“Actually... uhm.... I did,” Lauren spoke up. “With Jeremy gone, and all... and Andrea, she did so much to help us free you, you have no idea! And... and she loves us. I coudn’t just let her die!”

Garret sighed, too worn out to argue. “Very well. I’ll settle things with the Council once I’ve recovered. For now, let’s just get out of here.”

The council? Iliana gasped. “Oh my God! I almost forgot! The Council!”

At that moment, a loud noise broke the relative silence. A sixteen-wheel semi approached, barreling down towards them, doing ninety miles an hour. The driver was blowing his horn steadily, yet showing no signs of slowing. Realizatin struck Iliana, and she jumped into the driver’s seat.

“Everybody, IN! NOW! They’re gonna ram straight through us!”

Quickly, everyone loaded into the car, and Iliana shifted into reverse, kicking up sand and gravel. The battered Plymouth sputtered, squealing in protest, but shot off backwards like a rocket, just as the semi cleared the last hill. For a moment, they were close enough to see the driver and passenger of the truck clearly, the pale white skin and white gleaming fangs. Then they each dove out of the speeding truck, rolling to the ground as the vehicle went airborne.

Dr. Simon, still lost deep in his thoughts, looked up at the last moment, seeing two and a half tons of flying metallic death descending upon him. And then the impact struck, and the truck exploded in a blazing ball of intense heat and light, sweeping him away into oblivion...

Epilogue:

Iliana sighed softly, finally relaxing as Garret slid into bed beside her. She snuggled her head gently against his shoulder, mindful of his healing flesh. Three days, bed rest, and several pints of fresh blood had done wonders; only the deepest scars still remained. Even the bullet wounds had fully closed up, healing completely. Iliana knew he would recover fully in time.

“How did the meeting go, my Master?” she asked once Garret had settled into place.

“Well, it went better than expected. They decided to allow Lauren to keep Andrea and train her... provided that I keep a close eye on them both for the first two years.” He groaned softly at that. “Still, I think she’s truly ready this time. I think this whole incident had matured Lauren somewhat.”

“And Andrea’s a pretty level-headed girl to begin with,” Iliana added. “I take it everything went well with the transition?”

“Just fine. The cops found her car, wrecked, near the crash site along the interstate where the explosion took place. With all the fire damage, they were unable to make a positive ID of the body behind the wheel, but they naturally assumed it was her when they saw the melted gun in the front seat beside her.” He chuckled softly. “She wasn’t crazy about having to dye her hair black and cut it short, but I think she’ll get used to it after a while.”

Iliana growled softly. “Speaking of the explosion, what did the Council have to say about trying to blow you up along with Dr. Simon?”

Garret sighed, caressing his girl’s cheek idly, making her sigh and moan at his touch. “As you can guess, they were all apologetic about the whole thing, going on and on about it ‘being for the greater good’ and all that. Pure bullshit. The older ones are just so used to doing things their own way that when they finally got around to making the decision, they responded the way they always do: protect their own asses first, and let those on the front lines fend for themselves.”

Iliana smirked. “You a relatively young two hundred-year-old, you seem to have caught on to the way things work pretty quick.”

Garret smiled, kissing her softly. “I had a good teacher.” He pulled away after a bit, thinking for a moment. “You know, everything turned out rather well at the end. Simon is dead, put out of his misery, as well as ours. In probing his mind, I saw that he’d taken care not to leak any information to his superiors prior to the move, in case anyone of our vampiric persuasion had infiltrated the chain of command. His paranoia of being discovered actually aided us; the government has dismissed his so-called findings as the actions of a maverick bureacrat with his own agenda. We’re safe again... at least till the next crisis.”

“Well, when it comes,” Iliana purred, sliding gently into place, wrapping her long slender legs around her Master’s waist, “I’m sure we’ll be able to handle it. Mmmmmmm... oh, it’s soooo good to have you back, my Master.”

“And it’s good to be back, little one,” Garret murmured, piercing his tongue lightly as he slid his hardened manhood home, into Ana’s soft velvety folds. His blood coated lips brushed hers, and she gasped, caught off guard, as her Master gave her the Blood Kiss, sending her repressed passions skyrocketing. Her mind and body fused as one, as she surrendered, fully, and completely, to the pleasure.